Harbored Fugitive
by DiehardJavaJunkie14
Summary: Babette attempts to set Lorelai up on a blind date. Only problem is, Lorelai's less than thrilled with the guy. So she goes to the one person that's always there for her. JavaJunkie friendship, oneshot.


A/N: A prompt from JavaForever, aka Stella, to write a JavaJunkie friendship fic. Feedback is always appreciated. Thanks!

"Honey, I'm home!" Lorelai called, kicking off her heels at the front door. She headed into the kitchen, poured herself a cup of coffee, and caught sight of a post-it on the coffee pot. She groaned as she read Rory's message.

_Emergency Franklin meeting. Tried your cell, home, and Michel. Doubting Michel will give you the message, hence the post-it. Be home soon. Love, Rory_

Lorelai walked back into the living room, plopping down on the couch. She set the coffee mug on the table and stretched out on the couch. Where was the remote? She got up and looked under the couch to find nothing but a bag of Twizzlers and a dust bunny. She stood up and threw her hands in the air. "Stupid remote, show yourself!"

She pulled the couch cushions off, hoping the remote would magically appear. No such luck. The telephone rang and Lorelai shook her head. "I'm not home," she shouted to the phone, as though it could hear her. The message machine beeped and Babette's voice startled Lorelai.

"Lorelai, dollface, I was callin' to ask if you got my message about the blind date. I know you've been real busy lately and I wasn't sure if you were home, see Morey and I are at a jazz festival… another story for another time. Anyway, about the date. His name is Matthew, tall, dark, and sexy. Handsome doesn't even begin to cover this gorgeous specimen. Anyway, he's on his way over, go get pretty! Bye."

As soon as Babette hung up, the idea of a blind date registered in Lorelai's mind. Matthew was indeed tall, and dark, but also a jerk. She'd met him after he moved into Beenie Morrison's old place, which then became Dwight's "oasis". His 'serendipitous' trips to the mailbox at the same time as Lorelai and the 'fancy meeting you here' comments got old rather fast, and Matthew wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Lorelai was more than thrilled when he moved out.

But apparently, he was back for some reason or another. And there she was, frozen in her living room and cornered with the possibility of being roped into going out with this guy. Without thinking, Lorelai threw on her shoes and headed to Luke's. It was the only thing she could come up with on such short notice. Sookie was still at the inn, and Luke's seemed like the perfect hideout.

Running across the town square (in heels), she managed to make it to Luke's. Luke was clearing the last table, presumably from the dinner rush, and he turned to look at her. She sat at the table he was clearing, out of breath, and swallowed quickly.

"I need your help," she said quickly. "Babette tried to set me up with Matthew, remember creepy Matthew?"

"The guy on Halloween that had the chainsaw and the hockey mask, and Taylor was pissed at him, practically driving him out of town? That Matthew?" Luke confirmed.

Lorelai nodded. "Hide me. Please? I don't care if I have to hide in the kitchen, or the place where you keep all the extra food. Just please, please hide me?"

"Aiding and abetting a criminal? Harboring a fugitive?" Luke confirmed.

She rolled her eyes. "There are no warrants out for my arrest, I swear!"

"With all your parking tickets, I wouldn't be surprised if there was one," he muttered.

"Not fair! I'm in a crisis here. Matthew? Me? Date? Disaster."

Luke finished wiping down the table and sighed. "Fine. Go upstairs, I'll be up in a little while."

Lorelai smiled. "I so owe you," she said, grabbing her purse and scrambling up the stairs. She sat at Luke's table, drumming her fingers on the surface. Her stomach grumbled and she put her head in her hands, realizing that she hadn't yet eaten.

She closed her eyes, trying to psychically communicate with Luke. It wasn't working. She pulled out her cell phone and called downstairs to the diner. He didn't answer. Why didn't he answer his own phone? She closed the phone and put it back in her purse, hoping Luke would smuggle something upstairs for her. Maybe even coffee. Lorelai didn't even want to think about the perfectly good cup of coffee sitting on her coffee table, never to be consumed. It was practically a sin.

Almost on cue, Luke walked up the stairs, carrying a plate with a cheeseburger and fries on it. "I'll go pour you some coffee," he said, walking toward the door.

"Ketchup for my fries, too, please?" she asked sweetly.

"I'll be right back," he replied.

She stared at the burger and remembered what had happened a few weeks before. She'd gone into Luke's, begging him for his forgiveness by pretending to be Mimi. She popped a French fry in her mouth, smiling as she remembered just how much Luke meant to her.

"Coffee and ketchup," Luke said, putting them on the table in front of her.

"Thank you," she said, reaching for the mug.

"And you can't wait four seconds for that coffee," Luke muttered.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "It's been a really rough hour! This Matthew guy's a creeper."

"You didn't want to go out with him? You'd normally use the rationale that it's free dinner."

She sighed. "You know, I'm just not really ready for all of this again? I mean, I'm still a little upset over the Christopher thing, and going out with a guy who I really wouldn't want to be alone with is never a good idea. Instinct," she explained.

"Babette didn't see this, she didn't have the 'instinct'?" Luke asked.

"No, I mean, she's not the one who was supposed to date him," Lorelai continued. "So I guess that's all me. You know, maybe I was wrong, but I have to say, I enjoyed this a little more than I think I could like a fancy French restaurant with tiny portions."

Luke sat down at the table. "Well, glad I could help."

"Help? You saved my butt, Luke."

"I don't know about that, I think you're slightly overreacting," he replied, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

She looked at him and gave him another smile. "Well, thank you, regardless."

"You're welcome."

Eating her burger and drinking her coffee, she made a mental note to add this to the 'things Luke Danes has done that are really, really selfless' list. He was always there for her no matter what. Even if she had hurt him, even if they weren't speaking. If something went wrong, he was there. She could have done virtually anything to him and he would still forgive her. Luke Danes was a special guy. Lorelai knew from experience that there weren't many "Lukes" out there. Not many guys would be willing to forgive someone for telling them to 'go to hell'. And there were even less hypothetical guys out there who would truly care about Rory and Lorelai more than they did themselves.

As she thought more and more about it, no one else she'd ever met would harbor a blind date fugitive in their apartment for no rational reason. No doubt about it, Luke really was important to her.


End file.
